Arecent co-authored paper1 discussed a number of fundamental changes in U.S. regulation of commercial chemicals that should be considered in revising the Toxic Substances Control Act.2 As discussed in that paper, while the Environmental Protection Agency under TSCA has broad authority to require testing and reporting of hazard and exposure information on existing chemicals via rulemaking, deploying these authorities have proven cumbersome and inadequate for dealing effectively with the thousands of chemicals in commerce. Among the points explored in the paper was the need to establish requirements for regular periodic updating of basic hazard and exposure information and an approach was outlined for obtaining test data on new chemicals in a way that also helps to encourage continued innovation.

This paper presents a more detailed discussion of a general statutory approach to testing and exposure informationgathering for existing chemicals which would help deal with the current weaknesses and more effectively obtain the key hazard and exposure information reporting needed to ensure that EPA’s understanding remained current and informed. The paper also outlines a possible approach for obtaining chemical reviews prepared by industry as well as some thoughts on possible uses of the information collected, and concludes with a section on legislative considerations in developing and implementing the information requirements discussed in the paper. The intent of the approach proposed here is to help ensure that a revised statute is both effective and workable in meeting its goals and purposes.

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